Maybe the Nativity doesn't look quite like we think it does
I recently watched a new YouTube video that briefly and quite inadequately discusses how we historically arrived at a December 25 birthday for Jesus of Nazareth.1 During the video, the host plays clips from a different video that challenges a Read More …
Part Two of a four-part series for Time Out with Kevin Gallagher. Kevin interviews Tim and they discuss the politics of Herod the Great.
In this episode, Tim discusses the chronological components in the Infancy Narratives in greater detail, in particular Schurer’s Folly–the miscalculation by eminent German theologian Emil Schurer placing the death of Herod the Great in 4 BCE instead of the accepted Read More …
This week’s episode corresponds to Rosh Hashanah 2021. Michael Parker and I take the time to unpack the biblical astronomy of Revelation 12:1 & Genesis 49:10.
I’m flying solo this week. Michael will rejoin us soon. Today I discussed the origins of God Save the King (the first books I read that hypothesized that Jesus was not born on December 25), how we got the title Read More …
We can trace the origins of many of the traditions found in nativity plays to what are known as the infancy gospels, pseudepigraphal works written much later than what we now refer to as the canonical gospels. The oldest and most Read More …
When the Roman General Pompey annexed Syria, the Romans entirely redesigned Damascus as a Roman city. Still today, “Old Town” Damascus retains its rectangular Roman design and seven extant ancient gates. The name “Ester Gate” predates the Romans, so it Read More …
“He simply may not have known the precise dates of the events he describes.”
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We are pleased to announce the posting of Faith and Treason: An Introduction to the Political and Religious Sects in Judea at the Birth of Christ. Patrons of all levels will receive an essay like this each month. Higher Read More …